AR-15 optics questions

[The_War_Wagon]

I'm looking at Primary Arms optics. These have received tons of good reviews from ar15.com and other sites. It's not some cheap walmart crap.

So this firearm, will NEVER - under ANY circumstances - EVER be used in self/home defense?

I can't justify the expense of an AR15 as an occasional plinker. ALL of mine carry either Aimpoint, Leupold, or Trijicon optics, because my life - or the life of my family - may depend on it. That's the bare MINIMUM standard by which I have outfit all my AR's (and PTR91)

[WWGunslinger]

So this firearm, will NEVER - under ANY circumstances - EVER be used in self/home defense?

I can't justify the expense of an AR15 as an occasional plinker. ALL of mine carry either Aimpoint, Leupold, or Trijicon optics, because my life - or the life of my family - may depend on it. That's the bare MINIMUM standard by which I have outfit all my AR's (and PTR91)

doubtful. it'll probably sit in the safe until i get the urge to shoot it.
after spending the money on the ar i don't have the money to spend on high end optics also. you guys act like we all have thousands of dollars sitting around waiting to be spent. sorry, but i don't. if you want to buy me one, i'll gladly accept it.

[The_War_Wagon]

doubtful. it'll probably sit in the safe until i get the urge to shoot it.
after spending the money on the ar i don't have the money to spend on high end optics also. you guys act like we all have thousands of dollars sitting around waiting to be spent. sorry, but i don't. if you want to buy me one, i'll gladly accept it.

I make less than $28k a year - with a Masters degree, no less. The question is, what's your priority? The safety of my family comes first.

[ishoot4fun]

doubtful. it'll probably sit in the safe until i get the urge to shoot it.
after spending the money on the ar i don't have the money to spend on high end optics also. you guys act like we all have thousands of dollars sitting around waiting to be spent. sorry, but i don't. if you want to buy me one, i'll gladly accept it.

If your AR is going to be primarily a safe queen (and that's ok, lots of us on here own firearms that rarely get shot, if ever), I would say skip optics all together. There's a reason the Army insists on hitting 300 meter targets with iron sights. You can have just as much fun with an AR plinking out back with or without optics. If your money is so tight, I'd even skip the $100 optic and buy $100 worth of .223/5.56. What good is any gun without the ammo to feed it? Just a thought.

FWIW, I have my Stag Arms equipped with an AimPoint ML3 with a LaRue Tactical mount. It set me back over $600. To me, it was worth it. My AR ran naked for a while till I could save the money and get it. It is a home defense gun, and a very small investment to protect my family. But you need to evaluate your purpose and intent for your AR and what your budget is. But truth be told, if you're only after plinking in the back yard, a Ruger 10/22 and a couple bricks of .22lr will provide hours and hours of fun at the best price.

[WWGunslinger]

I make less than $28k a year - with a Masters degree, no less. The question is, what's your priority? The safety of my family comes first.

I don't have a family to protect. My wallet is what I am trying to protect here.

goddamn this thread got derailed fast. it started out as asking for suggestions on budget optics, then switched to telling me I should buy something I am not looking for, and now has degraded into how are you going to protect your family or possibly a thinly veiled insult that I don't think my family is important.

This is like asking what breed of dog I should get and someone saying I should get a cat instead. I thought this forum was better than this.

[WWGunslinger]

If your AR is going to be primarily a safe queen (and that's ok, lots of us on here own firearms that rarely get shot, if ever), I would say skip optics all together. There's a reason the Army insists on hitting 300 meter targets with iron sights. You can have just as much fun with an AR plinking out back with or without optics. If your money is so tight, I'd even skip the $100 optic and buy $100 worth of .223/5.56. What good is any gun without the ammo to feed it? Just a thought.

FWIW, I have my Stag Arms equipped with an AimPoint ML3 with a LaRue Tactical mount. It set me back over $600. To me, it was worth it. My AR ran naked for a while till I could save the money and get it. It is a home defense gun, and a very small investment to protect my family. But you need to evaluate your purpose and intent for your AR and what your budget is. But truth be told, if you're only after plinking in the back yard, a Ruger 10/22 and a couple bricks of .22lr will provide hours and hours of fun at the best price.

i already have a 10/22...

and here we go again with a complete change in topic. asking about optics and i get responses telling me i should buy a 10/22 instead.

[The_War_Wagon]

Best optics around for under $200.



I've given as little as $145 for a used set!

[NikeBauer21]

I don't have a family to protect. My wallet is what I am trying to protect here.

goddamn this thread got derailed fast. it started out as asking for suggestions on budget optics, then switched to telling me I should buy something I am not looking for, and now has degraded into how are you going to protect your family or possibly a thinly veiled insult that I don't think my family is important.

This is like asking what breed of dog I should get and someone saying I should get a cat instead. I thought this forum was better than this.

That's two threads now that you asked a question, got honest answers, and you didn't like it so you lash out at the responders.

Do you want us to tell you what you want to hear? Will that make you feel better? Ok, go buy a piece of crap... go buy it again after it breaks.. and then again after that one breaks.

We KNOW good optics cost a lot. We KNOW not everyone can afford them, routinely myself included. But people offered honest suggestions of budgeting for good optics, or don't get any at all, and just use iron sights until you can afford something better.

If you didn't want serious suggestions, you should have went to a camping/outdoor forum and asked for their opinion... they probably could have recommended a nice Crosman red dot from Walmart.

Keep in mind, why would you put a $20 optic on something you paid hundreds for? It's like having thousands and thousands of dollars in cash, and putting it into a safe you paid $200 for at Dicks...

But don't expect people on here to recommend you crap. People aren't going to just tell you what you want to hear when you ask their opinion. They will offer their advice.

Do what you wish.. it's your money.

[ishoot4fun]

i already have a 10/22...

and here we go again with a complete change in topic. asking about optics and i get responses telling me i should buy a 10/22 instead.

Gunslinger - I was only trying to over a viewpoint in a courteous manner. Sometimes when we seek knowledge, we learn something else or generate more questions. But I often see on this forum that people ask a question not in a true quest for information, but for validation upon an already decided action or product. I was just offering some thoughts and sorry if you took it the wrong way.

[WWGunslinger]

That's two threads now that you asked a question, got honest answers, and you didn't like it so you lash out at the responders.

Do you want us to tell you what you want to hear? Will that make you feel better? Ok, go buy a piece of crap... go buy it again after it breaks.. and then again after that one breaks.

We KNOW good optics cost a lot. We KNOW not everyone can afford them, routinely myself included. But people offered honest suggestions of budgeting for good optics, or don't get any at all, and just use iron sights until you can afford something better.

If you didn't want serious suggestions, you should have went to a camping/outdoor forum and asked for their opinion... they probably could have recommended a nice Crosman red dot from Walmart.

Keep in mind, why would you put a $20 optic on something you paid hundreds for? It's like having thousands and thousands of dollars in cash, and putting it into a safe you paid $200 for at Dicks...

But don't expect people on here to recommend you crap. People aren't going to just tell you what you want to hear when you ask their opinion. They will offer their advice.

Do what you wish.. it's your money.

Did you even read my original post or just automatically responded with AImpoint/Eotech? Do you have any experience with the Primary Arms products? Have you ever read anything about them?


Seriously, I'm not talking about crosman red dots or walmart shit.

after reading/watching reviews, the primary arms products have stood up to a lot of abuse and and have kept zero. They don't seem like crap to me, but you seem to be under the impression that anything less than an eotech or aimpoint is garbage.

why put a $600 optic on something that will only get used a few times a year, for range plinking no less. If i was going over to afghanistan or doing training, etc, then i would see your point. But i'm not doing that stuff.

you've had a condescending attitude since your first post in this thread.